african writing – Literature, Poetry and Reading.

Season of Crimson Blossoms,

by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim,

Published by Speaking Tiger (2017)

Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary fiction

Rating: 5/5

The writing in Season of Crimson Blossoms is unlike anything I’ve ever read. I was interested in the title since the book is centered around Nigerian Muslims- a place and religion that I know next to nothing about. I would definitely call this literary fiction since the book focused more on characters rather than the plot (which I loved).

Plot and Other Thoughts

The book indubitably has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read- “Hajiya Binta Zubairu was finally born at fifty-five when a dark-lipped rogue with short, spiky hair, like a field of miniscule anthills, scaled her fence and landed, boots and all, in the puddle that was her heart“. Hajiya Binta is 55, a widow and falls for a 25 year old Reza, a hoodlum who breaks into her house one afternoon but aborts this mission of his as soon as he notices a golden tooth in her mouth because it reminds him of his mother. In each other, both the characters find someone from their past that they loved and lost – Hajiya sees a glimpse of her deceased son in Reza and Reza sees a glimpse of his mother in Hajiya. Hence, their illicit love affair and longings unfurls against a backdrop of political corruption, violence, religious fundamentalism and patriarchal society in Nigeria. Their clandestine story is one that walks a forbidden path and defies age, class and religion. Through Reza, Hajiya is able to enjoy herself and no longer has to repress her desires of love and lust- which she did in her marriage with Zubairu (someone she was forced to marry at a very young age).

In an ideal world, Hajiya should be free to love and have sex with whomever she chooses to without having to think about others. Hajiya should not have to hide the most basic desires in life from her friends and family, but she does. These are the costs that we pay for loving and longing someone of our choice in a country and society that is marred with religion, patriarchy, violence and corruption. The book’s plot, religious settings and people’s mentalities were not very different from those found in my own country and hence it was relatively easier for me to ease into the story and understand the characters. Hindu or Muslim, India or Nigeria- we (not me, trust me) like our women (and also men) to be a certain way and to live up to harsh standards of a patriarchal society.

The novel is not only about the love affair between Hajiya and Reza but also builds up really well on the moods of other characters- their thoughts, experiences and desires in a violence and corruption ridden country. Throughout the course of the novel we read about the intense desires, troubles and emotions; such as trauma, jealousy and loneliness of each of these characters.

Conclusion

I love a book that is this layered and that peels off beautifully. The characters and some of the incidents linger long after you’ve read the book and I think that is wonderful. Definitely one of the best finds I’ve made this year. I also loved the literary references made in the book, I made a list of all the books that were mentioned in the novel. The only problematic thing about the book was the umpteen number of phrases and words in Hausa, I would have preferred some translation in parentheses. I’m definitely looking forward to more of his writing. After reading the book I realized that there is a glossary of the Hausa phrases available on the internet, please click here to find it.

I was going through my bookshelf last week and the diversity of authors was disappointingly inadequate- most of my shelf is dominated by English, Indian and American authors. African writing wasn’t the first thing on my mind but since a friend suggested that I read Kenyan authors, I decided to pick up this book. This book was my second in African writing after reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie almost two years ago.

The book is a childhood memoir and captures the political, social and cultural vicissitudes of Kenya through the eyes of Ngugi wa Thiongo- a Kenyan writer and academician who grew up in Kenya in the backdrop of the Mau Mau rebellion against British invaders. (I just discovered that he abandoned English to write primarily in Gikuyu and Kiswahili, his native tongue, since his imprisonment in 1978. Mad respect for that one! )

The book touches on multifarious topics such as Catholicism, education, the importance of circumcision in Gikuyu culture and the contrast and conflation of reactions surrounding male and female circumcisions, colonialism and the Mau Mau rebellion, propaganda by the government and more. His tryst with learning begins after his half brother Kabae, an ex soldier returns home who was by far the best educated in the Thiongo family. (“This may have sparked my desire for learning which I kept to myself. Why should I voice desires impossible to fulfill?“, says Ngugi). His mother soon admits him to a local school and asks him to promise to her that he will never stop his education and that’s where his dreams even in a time of war start to take shape. She would often ask him “is that the best you can do? ” each time he would tell her about his academic achievements. He would find it strange that she was more interested in the process of getting there than the actual results.

The schools eventually were forced to follow a syllabus prescribed by the colonial government. Somewhere in the book, Ngugi is enthralled by the government newsletters and is horrified by the image of a few killings by the Mau Mau rebels. Ngandi tells him that it is all “propaganda”, a colonial viewpoint, and that the government presented Mau Mau actions as senseless and without reason.

I also remember one of his brothers being a Mau Mau rebel whereas the other one was a supporter of the colonial government and both of them come to wish him luck before his entrance test for high school. The book comes to an end, a new beginning rather for Ngugi with his admission into the best high school in the country and his mother asking him again if this is the best he could do, reminding him of the pact to have dreams even in the time of a war.

Concluding Thoughts

At times, I had to look up a lot of events and concepts such as a thingara, Jomo Kenyata, etc to fully understand the scattered events before me. I did not expect this book to be as good as it turned out to be but I got so choked up at the end and I just, loved it. There is too much in the book such as the history behind names, traditions, family, patriarchy, struggle for an education, a simple yearning for a mid-day meal or a train ride that I would not want to and I cannot confine to the finitudes of a review.

Tag: african writing

Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Dreams in a Time of War